Chapter 108

Evelyn and I made the trip through the forest. The strange female warriors—I could sense that’s what they were, somehow—didn’t speak much more to us. They wouldn’t say who they were. They wouldn’t tell me why I felt like they were my sisters.

We didn’t go back to a car. They said we were already as close as we could get to roads, and all we could do was run deeper into the mountains. So, we did, with them accompanying us like a strange honor guard of rogues.

I slept close to Dane that night with them around us, and I don’t think he slept at all.

The next morning, we were farther from civilization than I knew it was possible to be in the lower 48 United States. The warriors called for a break. I was glad about that. Pregnancy made it harder to shift—I had to be conscious about shifting the baby as well as myself. It worked on instinct, but it got harder and harder as the baby got bigger and more developed. By the last month, it wasn’t recommended for pregnant women to shift at all.

We traveled miles more. Just as night was falling, the wolf leading us stopped.

“This is as far as we go,” she said. I still had no idea how I could hear her. I was no Luna.

“Where is she being kept?” Dane demanded.

“Follow this pass into the next valley. There’s a stream in the middle. Follow it. You’ll find her. Goddess be with you…and with her.”

For some reason, her words sent a shiver down my spine.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“I…don’t know,” she replied. “I only know that as much as we’ve tried to help you, something isn’t right. The darkness is closing in on all sides, and I’m not sure if we’ve done enough to make sure things turn back toward the light.”

Before Dane or I could ask another question, the woman and her companions were gone.

“Dane…what if it’s a trap?” I asked. I didn’t think it was. I had a strange trust in these women I couldn’t shake. But that trust was stupid, wasn’t it? Trusting anyone was stupid. Even Dane, as much as I wanted him, had never had my full and complete trust. If he had, I would have told him about my mother.

“We’ve come this far,” Dane said. “We’re going all the way to the end.”

Then, in a strained voice, he said, “I have to save at least one of them.”

My heart lurched in unexpected sympathy. As a rule, I tried not to feel sorry for people. If you felt sorry for them, you might start to choose them over yourself. If I didn’t choose myself, I could lose everything. But in this moment, I wanted to cry for Dane. And for Aurora and their kids. They’d been through so much, and I had a deep, unshakeable feeling that they were going to go through much, much more before all this was over.

We followed the pass and entered the valley. It was thickly forested and so dark; it was hard even for my wolf to see. Everything smelled like pine needles and dry leaves. Up here, fall came much more quickly than it did down in the valleys, and I could feel it in the cool breeze that ran through my fur like soft fingers.

We found the stream and followed it. It wasn’t always easy—sometimes trees grew with their roots right in it, and so close together that instead of going around, we had to wade through the water or risk losing it.

The water ran fast, and the banks got steep. We came to a point where they were high above our heads, like we were in a small ravine. The water rushed and battered us and threatened to sweep us away.

“We’re going to have to turn back and find our way on the bank,” Dane said. “There’s no way to swim against this current.”

“Thank the goddess, you’re finally seeing sense.” I didn’t like that. I hated water in general. As a human, I didn’t swim at all. My wolf knew how, but she barely liked the water more than me.

We turned, but as we did, a loose stone gave out from under me.

“Evelyn!” Dane called.

But it was too late. I yelped as my feet went out from under me. The stream rolled me over, battering me against rocks. I couldn’t tell which way was up or down. I was going to lose my baby. I was going to die. I was going to die, and no one was ever going to know the truth about me. About who I truly was, or who I loved…

A huge stone loomed in front of me. I tried to curl my body around my belly. But before I could hit, two arms wrapped around me and dragged me to one side.

When I saw who my savior was, my lips curled, and I growled. “Goddess damn it! Anyone but you.”